Bitcoin price today: rises above $111k amid easing trade jitters; US CPI on tap
Investing.com-- Bitcoin rose marginally on Thursday, struggling to gain momentum and retaining a bulk of recent losses as risk appetite for cryptocurrencies was quashed by resurgent concerns over a U.S.-China trade war.
The world’s largest crypto fell into a $100,000 to $110,000 trading range this month, as traders turned especially averse towards crypto after a flash crash wiped out some $500 billion of market capitalization earlier in October.
Bitcoin rose 0.1% to $108,980 by 09:22 ET (13:22 GMT). The crypto hit a low of around $103,000 earlier this month.
US-China trade tensions resurface amid reports of more curbs
U.S.-China trade tensions, which were a major weight on risk appetite this month, were seen creeping back into markets this week, as reports showed Washington considering retaliation for China’s rare earth export curbs.
The U.S. is considering curbs on a host of software-powered exports to China, reports showed on Wednesday– a move that could draw ire from Beijing and spark a renewed trade war between the economic giants.
While trade ructions do not directly affect the crypto industry, market volatility over a renewed trade war saw investors turn largely cold on crypto in October. Safe havens such as gold attracted large inflows, while technology stocks were more preferred among risk-driven plays.
Bitcoin largely lagged the NASDAQ Composite in October, as hype over artificial intelligence also saw traders prefer tech shares over crypto. Bitcoin’s losses in October largely offset optimism over the “uptober” trend, wherein crypto markets tend to outperform in October.
Bitcoin is trading down nearly 5% so far in October, compared to a 10% gain in October 2024.
Selling pressure on the world’s largest crypto also came from reports this week that a major Bitcoin whale had taken a short position on the crypto. The same whale had shorted Bitcoin before its flash crash earlier in October.
Ark Invest boosts Robinhood stake with $21mn purchase
Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest added to its position in Robinhood Markets, purchasing roughly $21.3 million in shares across two of its exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to Wednesday’s disclosure.
The Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) picked up 131,049 shares of the trading platform, while the Ark Next Generation Internet ETF acquired another 36,440 shares. Together, Robinhood now represents about 19% of both funds’ total holdings as of Wednesday.
Crypto price today: altcoins dull as ‘uptober’ cheer wanes
Broader crypto prices mostly moved in a flat-to-low range with Bitcoin, amid rapidly waning cheer over uptober. Most altcoins were also nursing losses for the month.
World no.2 crypto Ether edged 0.4% lower to $3,843.19, while BNB outperformed, adding 1% to $1,090.
XRP and Cardano were largely flat, while Solana gained around 2%. Among memecoins, Dogecoin rose 1% and $TRUMP fell 0.4%.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this report.)